This startup uses a personalized quiz to create one-of-a-kind colognes for men — after trying it, I'll never shop for fragrances in a store again

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Hawthorne

Hawthorne is a new startup
that's changing the way men shop for cologne with its
personalized fragrances.

After taking a 10-question quiz about yourself,
Hawthorne uses study-backed
data and the expertise of renowned perfumers to formulate
colognes just for you.

Hawthorne comes up with two
fragrances - one for work and one for play. You can buy both
for $100 or one for $60.

I went through the ordering process and it's quite
literally the easiest way to get great-smelling
cologne.

Every guy wants to smell great, but finding a cologne that's just
right for you can be a gruesome task. It involves going to a
department store and being bombarded by sales associates with
sample strips and an arsenal of fragrances. When you finally come
across a cologne that you like, there's a great chance you'll
continue smelling and sampling in hopes of finding something you
like even better. If you're not an expert in aromatics (and most
people aren't), you'll quickly get sucked into wasting a lot of
time.

Instead of making a seemingly major life decision about what you
want to smell like, new cologne startup Hawthorne is an easy and
accurate way to get cologne formulated specifically for you.

Founded in by longtime friends Brian Jeong and Philip Wong,
the brand aims to do two things - help men express their
individuality with one-of-a-kind fragrances, and make
the buying process a lot easier.

Here's how it works: Hawthorne uses your body
chemistry, lifestyle data, and study-backed research to identify
your scent preference with over 95% accuracy.

To get started on your own personalized Hawthorne cologne, you take a
very simple quiz. It asks basic questions about your current
cologne, diet, favorite drinks, personality, and style. If you
note that you're an expert (or at least have strong opinions) on
fragrances, you'll also get to choose two of your favorite
fragrance categories. Aquatic, Dry Wood, Citrus, Chypre, and
Floral are just some of the selections.

Then, one of brand's three award-winning perfumers formulates two
colognes for you - one for work and one for play. You can choose
to buy both for $100 or one for $60.

To find out just how well the service works, Hawthorne provided me with a
promo code to use at checkout. I walked through the process like
a normal customer would and couldn't be happier with what I
received.

It took about 10 minutes from start to checkout, which I thought
was super fast. Initially, I hesitant to believe they'd come up
with fragrances I liked based off of the very simple quiz.
Admittedly, I am very picky with stuff like cologne, but they
were very on point. Before trying Hawthorne, I had been using
the same Polo Sport and Polo Black colognes since high school.
For a long time, I've wanted to try other options, but it was
always hard to find something I liked without having to smell the
entire men's fragrance section. In the end, it turned out to be
the easiest and most efficient way to buy cologne - it only took
about two days to arrive.

Both of the scents I received were new and refreshing, yet still
in line with my personal preference. They were made by
Hawthorne's five-time Men's Fragrance of the Year winner
Oliver Gillotin, whose made fragrances for brands like
Balenciaga, Christian Dior, and even Ralph Lauren (the brand I'd
been wearing previously).

I also really enjoyed the packaging. The two bottles came neatly
packed in velvet-lined box. There's also a break down of the
fragrances that went into making your personalized colognes.

At essentially $50 each for two 1.7 oz bottles, Hawthorne isn't particularly
cheap, but it's also not the most expensive options on the
market. Given the personalized touch and the convenience over
buying cologne in a store, Hawthorne is definitely worth
it.

Whether you're looking for a new cologne for yourself or shopping
for a gift, I strongly recommend Hawthorne. When shopping for
someone else you can either send him an eGift card to take the
quiz or tailor a box specifically for him. With Father's Day
coming up, this makes for a great gift for dads.